Jewelry design kit and method for design

ABSTRACT

A jewelry design kit comprising (i) transfer sheets containing a plurality of deccilcamcenia bearing indicia of jewelry elements such as, for example, precious stones and ring shanks; (ii) a means for transferring the decalcomania from a transfer sheet to a work sheet; and (iii) a plurality of pens of different colors. The present invention also includes a method for utilizing the jewelry design kit to create new and creative jewelry designs. The invented method comprises the steps of (i) locating or selecting a decalcomania bearing the indicia of a desired jewelry element from among those on one of the transfer sheets; (ii) transferring the selected decalcomania from the transfer sheet to a work sheet by rubbing the face of the transfer sheet above the decalcomania with the means for transferring; (iii) sequentially repeating the above steps for each jewelry element comprising the design until, by superimposition of the decalcomania on the work sheet, the design is complete; and (iv) coloring the jewelry elements comprising the design with the appropriate pens, especially the precious stones. The present invention enables an unlimited number of new jewelry designs to be made in their actual size or to scale with accuracy and convenience, without any particular artistic skill or training on the part of the user.

Wm E. B. VAN DEUSEN 3,785,912

JEWELRY DESIGN KIT AND METHOD FOR DESIGN Filed Feb. 22, 1972 United States Patent O 3,785,912 JEWELRY DESIGN KIT AND METHOD FOR DESIGN Edward B. Van Deusen, Laguna Beach, Calif., assignor to Van-Lightner, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Feb. 22, 1972, Ser. No. 227,774 Int. Cl. B44f 1/06 US. Cl. 161-6 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A jewelry design kit comprising (i) transfer sheets containing a plurality of decalcomania bearing indicia of jewelry elements such as, for example, precious stones and ring shanks; (ii) a means for transferring the decalcomania from a transfer sheet to a work sheet; and (iii) a plurality of pens of different colors. The present invention also includes a method for utilizing the jewelry design kit to create new and creative jewelry designs. The invented method comprises the steps of (i) locating or selecting a decalcomania bearing the indicia of a desired jewelry element from among those on one of the transfer sheets; (iii) tnansferring the selected decalcomania from the transfer sheet to a work sheet by rubbing the face of the transfer sheet above the decalcomania with the means for transferring; (iii) sequentially repeating the above steps for each jewelry element comprising the design until, by superimposition of the decalcomania on the work sheet, the design is complete; and (iv) coloring the jewelry elements comprising the design with the appropriate pens, especially the precious stones. The present invention enables an unlimited number of new jewelry designs to be made in their actual size or to scale with accuracy and convenience, without any particular artistic skill or training on the part of the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention This invention relates to jewelry and, more particularly, to a novel jewelry design kit and method for designing jewelry.

(2) Prior art In recent years, purchasers of jewelry have increasingly been demanding personalized service and exclusive creations. In order to meet this demand, it has become essential for the retail jeweler to have a greater jewelry design capability than has heretofore been necessary. Those retail jewelers who have expanded their business to include the rendering of designs have enjoyed increased sales and prestige. Customers, for their part, have responded affirmatively to the experience of having an item of jewelry artistically and exclusively created for them.

Typically, a retailer jeweler is neither a trained jewelry designer nor a person capable of rendering an accurate drawing of an item of jewelry. Thus, the retail jeweler who desires to offer his customers personalized creations labors under two severe handicaps. In the first place, his ability to create new and artistic designs is limited; and, secondly, he is often unable to render an accurate drawing of his design. An accurate drawing of the design is essential if the jeweler is to convey to the prospective customer a proper image of the design he is offering. In addition, an accurate drawing is essential if the jewelry manufacturer is to produce the item of jewelry designed by the jeweler and selected or approved by the purchaser.

The methods of designing jewelry disclosed by the prior art have left the typical retail jeweler, untrained as a jewelry designer, to his own limited resources. His primary resource is likely to be his familiarity with many jewelry designs, gained through years of buying and sellice ing jewelry. His design process is typically limited to the rearrangement of familiar jewelry elements into new combinations, first mentally and then by rough sketches. Often the results are less than new and lacking in creativity.

Likewise, the prior art has not disclosed methods for enabling a person, unskilled in the drawing arts, to render an accurate drawing of a jewelry design. Inevitably, the drawing distorts the design as contemplated by the jeweler because of scale variations, loss of detail and often omissions. As a result, the prospective customer often fails to see or appreciate the design which the jeweler has created; or, perhaps worse, the customer may come away with a significantly different impression of what the item of jewelry will be from that actually conceived by the jeweler. Even if somehow the jeweler and the customer visualize from the sketch the same item of jewelry, there is the risk that the manufacturer will produce something different due to the inadequacy of the drawing representing the design.

There has been a long felt need in the art to provide a means for enabling the retail jeweler, untrained as a designer or draftsman, to create readily a large number of artistic and unique designs and to render accurate representations of these designs for both customers and the manufacturer. The present invention satisfies this long felt need. It overcomes the limitations and shortcomings of the prior art by disclosing a novel jewelry design kit and method of design which substantially increases the capability of a retail jeweler to design creative jewelry and, at the same time to produce accurate representations of the design.

The present invention can also be of substantial benefit to the professional designer or artist in the jewelry field in that it saves a great deal of time in representing the design concept on paper. This invention eliminates the need for laboriously and painstakingly drawing all the fine details of the various jewelry elements depicted. In addition, the method of the present invention is simple and convenient.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a jewelry design kit and a method for designing jewelry. The kit is comprised of (i) a plurality of transfer sheets, each sheet containing a plurality of decalcomania bearing indicia of jewelry elements, such as, for example, diamonds, pearls and ring shanks; (ii) a means for transferring the decalcomania from the transfer sheets to a work sheet; and (iii) a plurality of pens of different colors.

The transfer sheets are typically made of a thin translucent or transparent plastic. Aflixed to the back sides of the transfer sheets are the decalcomania. The front face of each decalomania has imprinted thereon highly realistic indicia of an element of jewelry and, in addition, a slight coating of an adhesive substance. The decalcomania adhere, face up, to the back sides of each transfer sheet so that their indicia are visible through the transfer sheet. The back sides of the decalcomania are also coated with an adhesive, the former being adapted to transfer to paper when applied thereto under pressure. In order to protect the adhesive coating on the back sides of the decalcomania when not in use, i.e., to prevent the decalcomania from inadvertently adhering to each other or to other transfer sheets or to any nearby paper, a backing sheet is provided. The backing sheet is placed against the back side of the transfer sheet and, thus, it covers what would otherwise be the exposed back sides of the decalcomania. The backing sheet is typically a wax impregnated paper which, while covering the back sides of the decalcomania, does not adhere to them.

The means for transferring the decalcomania from the transfer sheet to a work sheet can be any blunt narrowended instrument, preferably an instrument having a relatively small spherical or rounded end. However, any instrument having a smooth edge, capable of applying pressure to the face of the transfer sheet without tearing it, suitable, such as, for example, a pen or a pencil.

The pens utilized by the present invention for coloring the decalcomania after they have been transferred to a. work sheet, are conventional pens, preferably felt-tip pens.

In order to transfer a decalcomania from a transfer sheet to a work sheet, the backing sheet is first withdrawn and the transfer sheet placed over the work sheet. Then the means for transferring is rubbed vigorously over the face of the transfer sheet in the area immediately above the particular decalcomania selected for transfer. Transfer of the decalcomania to the work sheet takes place because there is greater adherence between the back side of the decalcomania and the paper of the work sheet than there is between the front side of the decalcomania and the plastic or the transfer sheet.

The method for designing jewelry which forms a part of the present invention comprises the steps of sequentially transferring decalcomania from the transfer sheets to a work sheet. By superimposing the indicia of jewelry element son the work sheet in a particular spacial relation, the design is created and, at the same time accurately depicted. After the design is completed, color is added by use of the'pens, thereby adding an additional quality of realism to the representation of the design.

Thus, it is a principal object of this invention to enable unskilled persons to create an unlimited number of new and artistic jewelry designs simply, conveniently and quickly.

It is another principal object of this invention to provide a means and method for producing highly accurate and realistic representations of jewelry designs.

It is another object of this invention to provide to professional artists in the jewelry design field ahighly flexible and time saving means of obtaining accurate and realistic representations of their creative concepts.

Other objects, novel features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon making reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. The description and the drawings will also further disclose the characteristics of this invention, both as to its structure and its method. Although a preferred embodiment and a preferred method of the invention are described hereinbelow, and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is expressly understood that the descriptions and drawings thereof are for the purposes of illustration only and do not limit the scope of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1a is a front planar view of a portion of a typical transfer sheet containing a plurality of decalcomania bearing indicia of cut diamonds of various sizes.

FIG. 1b is'a front planar view of a portion of a typical transfer sheet containing a plurality of decalcomania bearing indicia of a first decorative jewelry element, said indicia being of various sizes.

FIG. 1c is a front planar view of a portion of a typical transfer sheet containing a plurality of decalcomania bearing indicia of a second decorative jewelry element, said indicia being of various sizes.

FIG. 1d is a front planar view of a portion of a typical transfer sheet containing a plurality of decalcomania bearing indicia of a third decorative jewelry element, said indicia being of various sizes.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the transfer sheet of FIG. 1a and a means for transferring as they appear during the process of transferring a decalcomania from said transfer sheet to a work sheet.

FIG. 3 is an exploded front view of a typical jewelry design as it appears on the work sheet after four jewelry elements from the transfer sheets of FIGS. la-ld have been superimposed on the work sheet by the process depicted in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION lucent or transparent plastic to which the decalcomaniav 14a adhere closely, but not permnaently. The decalcomania 14a are disposed, face up, on the back side 12a of transfer sheet 10a, so that their respective indicia are clearly visible through the transfer sheet 10a. The back sides of the decalcomania 14a are coated with a suitable adhesive substance which adapts the decalcomania to being transferred to a paper work sheet 20 when pressure is applied to transfer sheet 10a directly above decalcomania 14a, as shown in FIG. 2. In order to protect the adhesive coating onthe back sides of the decalcomania, when the transfer sheet 10a is not in use, a backing sheet 16a is disposed adjacent to the back side 12a of transfer sheet 10a. It is preferable, but not necessary to this invention, that the backing sheet 16a be affixed to the transfer sheet 10a at an end 1811. In this configuration, the backing sheet 16a hangs down from end 18a to cover the back sides of the decalcomania 14a, which sides would otherwise be exposed. As a result, the decalcomania arev prevented from inadvertently adhering to adjacent surfaces when the transfer sheet 10a is not being used. The backing sheet 16a is typically a wax impregnated paper which does not adhere to the decalcomania 14a when placed in contact with their adhesive coated back sides, even under pressure.

The kinds and variety of jewelry elements which can be represented by the indicia imprinted on the decalcomania are virtually unlimited. In addition, the variations in size and details which are possible with respect to any particular jewelry element is likewise unlimited. While the indicia of jewelry elements are preferably made to be actual size, the present invention does not preclude indicia which are imprinted in an exact scale relation to the dimension of the element being represented. The de calcomania 14a contemplated by this invention are made of a paper which is adapted to receive and retain coloring material, typically ink. Thus, the ability to add combinations of color to the jewelry design comprised of selected decalcomania adds additional variety and realism to the design.

The present invention contemplates the generation of a large number of transfer sheets containing many jewelry elemets of various sizes and designs. FIGS. 1b-ld depict examples of such other transfer sheets 10b-10d containing decalcomania 14a-14d having imprinted thereon indicia of first, second and third decorative elements respectively. Also shown in FIGS. lb-ld are portions of backing sheets 16b-16d respectively.

A means for transferring a typical decalcomania, such as 14a, is typically comprised of an elongated member 22 having a blunt, relatively narrow end 24. A member 22 having a. relatively small spherical or rounded end 24 is preferreed. However, any device with a smooth edge, which can be held in the hand to transmit pressure over the face of the typical transfer sheet 10a without tearing it, is suitable, such as, for example, a pen or pencil. The reason for it being preferable that end 24 of member 22 be narrow is to allow the transfer of a single decalcomania 14a without disturbing adjacent decalcomania 14a on the same transfer sheet a, close proximity of such decalcomania 14a being contemplated by this invention.

The present invention includes means for coloring the indicia on the face of typical decalcomania 14a after they are transferred to Work sheet 20. Preferred means for coloring are a plurality of different colored conventional felt-tip pens.

The process of transferring typical decalcomania 14a from transfer sheet 10a to work sheet 20 is shown in FIG. 2. First the backing sheet 16 is withdrawn, and the transfer sheet 10a is placed over the work sheet 20. The position of transfer sheet 10a is arranged so that a decalcomania 14a, which is to be transferred, is in the proper position with respect to other elements of the design already transferred such as decorative elements 14b', 14c and 14d shown in FIG. 2. The end 24 of member 22 is then vigorously rubbed over the face of transfer sheet 10a within an area thereof defined by the dimensions and shape of decalcomania 14a The transfer of typical decalcomania 14a to the work sheet 20 takes place because of the tendency of the back side of decalcomania 14a to adhere more firmly to the work sheet 20 than that of the front side of the decalcomania 14a to adhere to the transfer sheet 10a. The occurrence of the transfer is readily seen in that, after transfer, the indicia imprinted on the decalcomania 14a becomes substantially lighter as seen through the typical transfer sheet 10a.

The preferred method of creating jewelry designed by use of the transfer sheets 10a-10d, member 22, work sheet 20 and colored pens (not shown) is now described. Two basic approaches are possible. In the first approach, the designer has a generally preconceived design concept. In this case, he has merely to search through the various transfer sheets 10a10d for the particular decalcomania bearing the indicia of the individual elements comprising his design, such as, for example, diamond 14a, first decorative element 1411, second decorative element 140 and third decorative element 14d. In the second basic approach, the designer first scans the various transfer sheets 10a-10d and forms his design concept from the elements presented thereon. This approach is particularly suitable for the person who is untrained or unskilled as a professional jewelry designer. Elements comprising the design are selected and tried, typically on a trial and error basis.

The method for physically creating the design in work sheet 20 comprises the steps of sequentially transferring selected decalcomania 14a'-14d' from transfer sheets 10a-10d to the work sheet 20. Thus, as depicted in FIGS. 2'3, decalcomania 14a-14d' are sequentially transferred to work sheet 20, and by superimposition thereof in a particular spacial relation with respect to one another,

the complete design 30 of FIG. 3 is created. Simultaneous with its creation, design 30 is accurately and realistically represented on work sheet 20. After completion of the design, color may be added to enhance the quality of realism and beauty of design rendered.

Although this invention has been disclosed and described with reference to a particular embodiment and method, the principles involved are susceptible of other applications which will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. This invention, therefore, is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiment or method herein disclosed.

I claim:

1. A jewelry design kit comprising the combination of:

(a) a plurality of translucent transfer sheets, each of said transfer sheets containing (i) a plurality of decalcomauia adapted to being transferred to a separate work sheet, said decalcomania each bearing the indicia of an element of jewelery and being aflixed to the back sides of said transfer sheets, said indicia being disposed face up and visible through said transfer sheet, and (ii) a plurality of backing sheets, each of said backing sheets being affixed to a corresponding transfer sheet at one end thereof and disposed facedly adjacent to said back side of said transfer sheet, said backing sheets being adapted to cover but not adhere to said transfer sheets or said decalcomania; (b) an elongated member having a blunt, narrow end, said member being adapted to apply pressure to said transfer sheet without tearing the same; and

(c) a plurality of pens, each of said pens having a different colored ink,

whereby selected decalcomania are sequentially transferred to said work sheet by the lifting of said backing sheet and the application of pressure by said member so as to produce a plurality of jewelry designs, said jewelry designs being colored by the application of ink from at least one of said pens.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said backing 40 sheets are wax impregnated paper sheets.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein the back sides of said decalcomania are coated with an adhesive substance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,662,325 12/1953 Shreedharan 156-290 X 3,013,917 12/1961 Mackarilau 161-406 T EDWARD G. WHITBY, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

